AK v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant, AK, is a citizen of India who entered the United Kingdom in 2006 and who says her problems with domestic violence began in 2011. On 19 March 2025 she applied for leave to remain, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department refused that application on 10 June 2025. She appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) on protection and human rights grounds, saying that she was at risk from her estranged husband's family because she had been a victim of domestic violence, and that she had lived in the United Kingdom for 20 years and would face very significant obstacles to reintegration in India. The Tribunal file also showed her pursuing an Article 3 medical ground and an Article 8 private life ground. The respondent accepted that she had been a victim of domestic violence but argued that her credibility was damaged by her failure to claim asylum earlier, and that she had produced no evidence that the Indian authorities would be unwilling or unable to protect her. The appeal was heard at Columbus House on 1 September 2026 before First-tier Tribunal Judge Webb. Neither party attended: the appellant, by then unrepresented, had not engaged with the Tribunal since May 2026, and counsel instructed for the respondent had withdrawn.